GOOD year, bad year? With 2014 drawing to a close, we ask Stephen Gorman, co-founder and CEO at Edinburgh-based Pilot Fish Media: ‘How has it been for you?’.
Briefly, what is it that you do?
Pilot Fish Media is a strategic digital agency with a concentration on helping brands grow in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Our USP is simple: we have a team on the ground in each country we target. This is to cover the local language, the market nuances and to also allow us to be 100 per cent up to speed with all social trends.
We look to remove the stress and potential pitfalls of entering a new market for a business/marketing team and we have helped numerous businesses either launch in emerging markets or further increase their visibility, and in turn profits, in emerging markets.
Choose three words that sum up 2014 (so far), from a professional point of view.
Blossoming. Strategic. Exploratory.
In 2013, what was your biggest ambition for 2014, and to what extent did you achieve it?
2013 was very much a year for building the foundations and processes for PFM. Our main ambition was to have strong team members in each of our key territories; something I am happy to say we were able to achieve slightly ahead of schedule.
How has 2014 (so far) been for you, personally?
Personally, 2014 has been very productive in the sense that I have been able to work with the team to really grow PFM and enter some hugely interesting territories/countries. I always feel things can go better/improve, though. I will be trying my best to do so early in 2015!
Any changes this year in technology, legislation, the economy, etc. that have had a relatively significant impact on the business?
Although some of the key territories we target have gone through quite severe economic fluctuations, the impact on the business has been minimal – thankfully.
What looking forward to, in 2015 – personally and professionally?
Professionally, we are looking forward to further expansion in South America, a market that we have been planning to enter for quite some time. Personally, being a Manchester United fan, I am hoping for a top four finish under the new manager – that would do nicely!
